NCJ Number
70259
Journal
AIIE Transactions Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (1979) Pages: 12-22
Date Published
1979
Length
11 pages
Annotation
An applied location theory study to select the locations of two police briefing stations in Oklahoma City is presented; included are data collections methods, model development, and solution techniques.
Abstract
Recognizing the city's rapid growth and the inefficiency of the current law enforcement situation, citizens approved a 1974 bond issue authorizing construction of two briefing stations. The purpose of these stations was to decentralize the process of briefing and debriefing patrolmen at shift changes. A review of police operational procedures revealed that an appropriate parameter for establishing a model was police travel time. Consequently, empirical travel times for all major roads were developed (the source of these times is discussed). In order to develop the model, numerous informal interviews with key personnel in the police department were conducted. After investigating all the factors which would have an impact on the selection of briefing station locations, a number of assumptions were made with the concurrence of police officials. Model development was based upon these assumptions. For the model two sets of points were used: a set of demand points (centroids), or expected destinations of the police cars within a district; and the possible sites for briefing stations. The results of the test application established zones lying along the interstate system and provided benchmark solutions against which new site combinations could be compared. The model could continue to function as a tool to evaluate sites of interest or availability. Mathematical formulations, a map of test site combinations, a table of test sites, and 12 references are provided.